About Thierry P. Gaillard

Who am I?

Curious, decisive, and armed with a sharp sense of humor, I am an effective manager capable of grasping the full strategic picture of your business challenges.

Versatile, loyal, and rigorous, I excel at leading teams with diverse viewpoints and uniting people across varied cultures, backgrounds, and locations.

Drawing on my professional track record and cross-functional assignments, I smooth operational friction, streamline complex processes to make them crystal clear, and innovate to elevate customer experience.

I leverage technology and digital systems to serve more clients, faster and better, while driving down costs: in short, I manage projects and people so everything runs smoothly.

What are my objectives?

To lead an agile team tasked with designing and executing a digital strategy that wins new customers faster and more cost-effectively, builds lasting brand equity, and turns your business into a digital champion.

In short: to serve as your future Head of Digital Marketing or Senior Digital Project Manager.

My professional biography began in corporate travel as a travel consultant, roles I held for several formative years.

Quickly, I was entrusted with responsibilities as a corporate trainer and project manager. Passionate about software and computing, I used technology to raise service quality and boost team productivity by automating repetitive workflows.

I then advanced to Profit Center Director, first managing 20 people, and subsequently leading over 100 professionals. These were outstanding years of executive management, which I eventually stepped away from to pursue entrepreneurship.

For eight years, I founded and directed Lafranceamamesure, a web travel guide created to showcase destination France to French and international travelers.

Following this entrepreneurial chapter where I mastered digital marketing from the ground up, I chose to apply my expertise in digital project delivery to SMBs and enterprises in France and abroad.

What are my areas of expertise?

I am a versatile executive with deep core competencies across team management, digital project steering, front-end engineering, and corporate training. This multifaceted skill set allows me to lead teams, formulate sharp digital strategies, build accessible UI experiences, and deliver high-impact training.

Team management

Managing teams for 20 years, I have led organizations ranging from two to 100 people across multiple sites. I also hold extensive experience in distributed and remote team management.

Digital project steering

Serving as digital marketing leader and project manager for a decade, I partner with companies seeking to implement top-tier digital strategies to accelerate business growth.

Front-end engineering

I am a front-end developer who builds "designed from scratch" with a relentless focus on web performance, Progressive Web Apps, and modern security standards. I also engineer custom WordPress platforms when required by project scope.

You can explore my portfolio showcasing selected client and custom projects.

Training & education

Over 300 professionals trained in digital marketing, AI, and tourism technologies across academic institutions, corporate seminars, and public agencies. Frequent jury member for bachelor degrees, tourism credentials, and startup pitch competitions.

What are my degrees & certifications?

I hold Master's level credentials (Bac+5). I hold several executive degrees alongside numerous professional certifications because continuous learning is a lifelong commitment.

What is my industry expertise?

#Tourism / #BusinessTravel / #eTourism / #Ecommerce.

What are my core values?

• Courage: never indulge in demagoguery or easy complacency.
• Respect: treat every individual as a competent, valued peer.
• Determination: establish ambitious yet actionable goals.
• Dialogue: take time to listen attentively and evaluate contrary viewpoints.
• Audacity: reject the status quo that inevitably leads to stagnation.

What are my interests?

Fascinated by the hyperpower of computing, I code websites and web applications for the pure joy of learning. I advise early-stage startups from ideation to offering design because I thrive on corporate strategy.

I also have a keen interest in hard sciences, particularly physics. I follow neuroscience and detective fiction with great curiosity, and have been an insatiable reader since childhood.

What do people say about me?

Colleagues say:

"Thank you for your patience and thoughtful pedagogy. I hope your communicative enthusiasm for our craft will help me build a career as accomplished as yours."

Executive leaders say:

"Thierry knows how to take measured risks. Working with him is invigorating: while fully committed to corporate objectives, he always offers lucid, transparent, and constructive feedback."

Clients say:

"Thank you for a proposal that went well beyond our expectations! We did not think we could achieve so much within our budget."

What professional achievements make me proud?

Delivering consistent results

At American Express, exceeded target performance goals six consecutive years under three different executive managers.

Empowering teams

At American Express, during consecutive company restructuring programs, achieved a 77% satisfaction score among employees in annual confidential surveys.

Championed employee development: numerous team members achieved rapid promotions through recognized performance excellence.

Fostered team loyalty: at our facility, 80% of staff chose to remain with the company during restructuring, versus an industry benchmark of 15%. My teams stepped up to deliver nationwide 24/7 service when larger business centers found no volunteers.

Customer acquisition via digital channels

At La France à ma mesure, on an ultra-lean budget from scratch, grew traffic to 800,000 page views by year two.

Delivered advisory services enabling SMB founders to achieve measurable ROAS gains in Google Ads.

Steering complex projects

Led the nationwide reorganization of reservation workflows and telecommunications infrastructure to align service tiers strictly with client SLA contracts.

Architected operational procedures adopted and maintained nationwide for years.

Training & upskilling

At INFA, 70% of students trained on Amadeus and corporate tourism operations secured employment within six months.

Pioneering sustainable tourism

Championed regional tourism development years before it became a mainstream industry movement.

What is my credo?

• Smooth operational friction.
• Eliminate superfluous bureaucracy to make work meaningful.
• Challenge tools and people to grow.
• Question dogmas and preconceived ideas.
• Train teams on industry best practices.
• Constantly refine organizations (what we now call agility).
• Elevate productivity sustainably.
• Deliver outstanding customer experiences at every touchpoint.

Ultimately: deliver better, faster, higher quality, while optimizing costs.

What are my CliftonStrengths according to Gallup?

I took the Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment, universally recognized as one of the world's leading talent diagnostics.

What I value in this assessment is its focus on your top five personal talent themes among more than thirty. These can be harnessed strategically throughout your career.

My diagnostic revealed the following top five strengths:

Input

People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information. Their curiosity and resourcefulness allow them to store knowledge that can be shared to facilitate team growth.

Learner

People strong in Learner have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. The process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them. They learn rapidly and keep groups at the leading edge of knowledge.

Maximizer

People strong in Maximizer focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb. They capitalize on individual strengths to elevate team performance.

Intellection

People strong in Intellection are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions. Their analytical depth provides clarity and fresh problem-solving frameworks.

Competition

People strong in Competition measure their progress against the performance of others. They strive to win and invigorate groups to reach higher tiers of performance and excellence.

What is my Proust questionnaire?

• If I were a game console? The PlayStation 5, to play with my children.
• If I were a video game? GTA, to play with my son Arthur.
• If I were an invention? The wheel, because it changed human history forever.
• If I were a motto?The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
• If I were an animal? A slime mold (blob). Despite having no brain, it learns and adapts.
• If I were a sport? Football (soccer), to play with my daughter Emma, and table tennis.
• If I were a flower? A water lily, because of its quiet mystery.
• If I were a dish? A poultry liver terrine served with traditional quenelles.
• If I were a song? "The River" by Bruce Springsteen.
• If I were a color? Deep navy blue, because it inspires calm focus.
• If I were an instrument? The piano, for its boundless expressive range.
• If I were a book? The Evolution of Physics by Albert Einstein and Leopold Infeld.
• If I were a fictional character? Dr. Gregory House, for his razor-sharp wit and problem-solving.
• If I were a movie? Platoon by Oliver Stone, for its raw emotional honesty.
• If I were a piece of music? Schubert's Ave Maria.
• If I were a chemical element? Hydrogen, the primordial foundation of the cosmos.
• If I were a character flaw I cannot stand? Pretentious sermonizers and moralizers.